


Rivalry

by DeepSeaViolet



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Organized Crime, Silver is nonbinary, cursing, many poc characters, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-08-10 12:51:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7845772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeepSeaViolet/pseuds/DeepSeaViolet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rivalry {ˈrīvəlrē}<br/>noun<br/>Competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field</p><p>In which Gold and Silver get in the way of each other a lot. And take down a massive crime syndicate. And fall in love, they do that too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where the Winds of a New Beginning Blow

Today, June 21st, may have been the first day Gold walked home from school with a smile on his face. It was a smile borne solely from the thought of having finished school once and for all. No more Cherrygrove academy and its stuck up staff and snotty kids. Gold ran a quick reality check, recounting the events of the last nine months just to confirm that he was actually going to become a pokémon trainer.

On a Monday in the fall, his homeroom teacher had handed out a pink form. It was lined with various questions that most forms have: name, date of birth, physical conditions, medication...etc. Gold had eagerly grabbed it, and later that night he told his mom that the form was the only thing between him and his dream. He wanted to leave Cherrygrove Academy after this year, his sophomore year, and become a pokémon trainer. His best friend Kotone had already been accepted as a trainer-to-be, as her father was a pokémon professor and she could help his work. Gold’s mother had said no at first, but with enough convincing, assurances, and an entire month of being the best son possible (Gold deeply lamented cooking every single night), Gold managed to get her to sign it. He turned in the form exactly on its due date. Thus, the stage was set for Gold to become a pokemon trainer alongside Kotone.

On his way off campus, Gold scanned his report card. He had passed everything, and had even managed a C in history. Gold let out a small whoop as he rejoiced his freedom from school. He stuffed his report card in his backpack and quickened his steps, eager to be away from Cherrygrove. Gold eased into a stroll as he exited Cherrygrove City and headed into the fresh-cut grass smell of Route 29. The weather was uncharacteristically cool for Johto, and Gold could have cried with joy at the amazing dryness at his armpits. Along his way he spotted movement in the tall grass on the sides of the road and in the forest beyond. His excitement built steadily as he walked, and by the time he made it to New Bark Town he was practically bursting with elation.

When Gold passed Professor Elm’s lab, he saw an unusual blob of red. He walked toward the small alley between the lab and the forest. The fiery mop sat on a...boy? Maybe a girl? Gold settled on kid. The kid looked about 15 years old, and was clothed in a black jacket with dark red seams, tattered blue jeans, and had a frizzy mane of dark red hair. Gold noticed that they were scowling, as if plagued by a difficult problem. They were slightly stooped, staring intently through a window into the lab. Gold found himself staring at the redhead’s sharp nose and the contours of their jaw and neck. He panned his gaze upward and started as he observed the most beautiful grey eyes he had ever seen. The orbs held a icy determination that made them gleam like polished silver. Gold was jerked back to reality when the teen mumbled something under their breath. He chastised himself both for staring so openly and widely at a stranger and not investigating their questionable activity. Gold tried to make himself look authoritative, then gulped and said in the deepest voice he could manage, “Hey kid, why do you keep staring into the lab like it’s gonna get you inside? The door’s out front you know.” The redhead whipped their head up to look at Gold, briefly displaying shock. Then they straightened out and the shock gave way to irritation.

“None of your damn business, now leave,” said the stranger as they prowled toward Gold. Gold felt the familiar hands of panic seizing him as he found himself looking up at a very intimidating, very ambiguous teenager who looked ready to stab him. Fear coursed through Gold and he started backing away, putting his hands up.

“Woah, okay then bucko. I don’t even live or work here so...whatever I guess. I’ll just uh,” Gold awkwardly pointed finger guns at the angry redhead, “see you around?”

The stranger shot Gold a murderous glare and Gold fled.

Gold shook himself, determined to make sure that the encounter by Elm’s lab didn’t ruin his day. He was shaking and breathing heavily, but he took deep breaths and convinced his brain to focus on his upcoming journey. The bounce in his step and his excitement came back gradually, but they were lacking compared to his earlier euphoria. The encounter outside of the lab had taken a larger toll on him than he would have liked. Gold’s body hosted a whirlpool of thrashing emotion, but he shrugged it off as best he could when his house came into view. The moment he entered his house he hastened to his laptop, fingers flying over the keys before he bothered to shed his backpack or shoes. He found a slew of messages from Kotone, and he was fairly sure that 90% of them were just exclamation points. Gold decided that he wouldn’t settle for typing, and plus his mother wasn’t home, so he whipped out his pokégear. Upon calling Kotone, Gold prepared to yell.

“HOLY FUCK,” he screamed, throwing his body’s tension into the words.

“HOLY FUCK GOLD,” Kotone screamed with him.

“FREE FROM HELL AT LAST.”

“Yeah?!” Kotone couldn’t help it, she encouraged him.

“Shit dude I made it. I made it out of goddamn Cherrygrove and its goddamn students, and Mrs. Alexander damnit, AND THE GODDAMN NICKNAME ‘GOLDILOCKS’,  AND GODDAMN BOOKS, AND WORDS, AND GRADES, AND I’M DONE,” Gold ranted.

“Slay Gold!” Kotone shouted. Gold blanched into the speaker, deflating quickly.

“No Kotone, just...no. Please don’t do that, for my safety. You might make me die from cringing,” Gold could practically hear his best friend frown through the speaker.

“Wow Gold, I’m very hurt. You didn’t have to insult me like that, now i’m crying, see?”

“No, I can’t see Kotone, we’re on the gear.”

“Yeah yeah, but seriously tell me how the last day was. Did you flip anyone off? Punch a kid? Roast Mrs. Alexander?” Kotone rattled off the questions with frightening speed. Gold was sure she was frothing at the mouth. Her mood was as volatile as the weather in Blackthorn city, and the people in Blackthorn always had to wear ponchos like capes in case a thunderstorm materialized out of the blue.

Gold proceeded to tell Kotone about his last day at Cherrygrove Academy. Kotone was obviously disappointed, because Gold did not and would never do any of the things she mentioned. Well, maybe he would flip someone off, but nobody would see it, so would it really count? Gold entertained the tree-falling-down-in-the-wilderness question for a while, then went back to the conversation. Kotone asked if anything interesting at all happened, and Gold actually had a response.

“Yeah, I saw this redhead looking through the windows to your dad’s lab. Like, not just looking in as they passed by, actually staring in the window like their long lost brother was in there.”

“Well did you tell him to fuck off?”

“I tried to tell them to fuck off, but they were fucking scary. As soon as they turned toward me I realized they looked like a gang member or something and thought ‘this kid might pull a knife’, so I bolted.” Gold rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Kotone settled to tell her father about the stranger, and with that the conversation became what it usually was. Throughout the call Gold tried to keep up with Kotone’s boundless energy, but sometimes she would say something completely off topic and start to babble about that instead. Gold just had to let her rant most of the time. When Gold heard his front door opening, he told Kotone that he should go. She said the same, so he hung up.

The best way to describe Gold’s mother was round. She was all soft curves, not a single edge on her body. She was the kind of mother who loved to give out hugs, and was ideal hugging material. She struggled between two worlds all the time, her traditional Johtovian upbringing constantly dictating many of her opinions, while her life as a single mother with a disabled son shaped other sides of her attitude. She was the friendliest mixed bag Gold had ever met, and he would not give her up for anything. She was a strict matriarch, like most Johtovian mothers, and Gold knew that when there was a chore she told him to do that he had better do it. He had never been given an actual beating before, but he knew she could wield a sandal like a deadly weapon. Even so, she was also very nurturing. She was always there for Gold, and if he did not tell her what was wrong, she would still manage to make him smile. Josia Vasquez was, Gold decided, a great mother.

Gold greeted her with a hug. She gave him a brave smile and a kiss on the cheek. They went to the kitchen in silence, and started preparing his favorite food in honor of his last night at home. It was a Johtovian rendition of the Kanto favorite macaroni and cheese. It included spicy peppers, chicken, and beans baked into the macaroni dish, a product of tradition and poverty that never failed to quell hunger. When the food was in the oven, Josia finally turned to him. She looked at him with teary eyes, and he looked down. She embraced him again, and Gold knew the moment she touched his shoulder that she was going to cry.

“My little Ethan, leaving so young…” Josia said, her breath catching with sobs. Gold let her cry for a while, then spoke.

“I’m not leaving for good, mama. I’ll come back and make sure you live nice.” She slowly pulled her head up and grasped his shoulders, her eyes fierce.

“Don’t come back just for me. I’ll make it ok, you should have fun while you can.” Gold looked skeptical. “Gold, honey, don’t feel guilty just because you have to leave me to do this. I want you to be happy. This is your _dream_ , this is what being young is all about. Lord knows I didn’t get to follow my dreams, so don’t worry about me. Just go out there and do your best for me,” Josia concluded. Gold was not surprised by her speech, she was one to give a life lesson at every opportunity. However, he was shocked by the intensity of her words.

“Thank you mama,” Gold said, not knowing any other suitable response.

“You’re welcome, now come on! This kitchen won’t clean itself, and your bag won’t pack itself. You have to be up early tomorrow, so get moving,” Josia said, clapping her hands. She wore an expression of humorous determination, like a child trying to win a belching contest. Gold bobbed his head and slipped easily into the mundane task of clearing off the counter. When he finished that, he got the sponge and wiped off all of the kitchen surfaces while Josia washed the dishes. When the kitchen sparkled, Josia said, “Now go pack! Pack everything you need first then come to me if there are things that you don’t have.”

Gold simply looked at her and nodded, suddenly not trusting his voice. He focused intently on considering all of the things he would need on his journey. Three extra pairs of clothing seemed like the right idea, because it provided for being on the road for more than four days at a time and did not take up much space. He worked out some exceptions, like a pair of pants for bug infested areas and a sweater. Everywhere else he figured he could deal with shorts and a T-shirt. With clothes taken care of, Gold moved on to other items. He scoured his room for different things he thought he would need, and with each item his anxiety grew. _What ifs_ whirled in his head and caused his movements to become feverish. He forced himself to sit down when he ran straight into his bedroom wall while trying to locate his pool cue and pick up his skateboard at the same time. From there he tried to take a more logical approach, but ended up concluding that he had everything he needed, it was just a question of things he might want for whatever reason. Gold sighed and went downstairs, forcing himself to believe that he would be ok so long as he had his trainer card.

“I think I have everything I need,” Gold said when he entered the living room. Josia looked up groggily as if she had just been falling asleep. Gold looked at her then at the clock, it had somehow become 10:43 p.m.. Josia perked up considerably at Gold’s entrance, and soon shed her sleepiness to check Gold’s bag. She sifted through the contents, mumbling a list of things.

“Everything’s here...Oh! Gold you forgot your bathroom things, go get them now.” Gold muttered a curse under his breath. He dashed up the stairs and into the bathroom. He had done all of his packing in his room, so it was no surprise that he forgot his toiletries. He collected his dental supplies and his shaving kit. He shoved them in a small pouch that he had gotten for holding his toiletries at overnight camp. Pokémon centers had shower supplies, and Gold could not spare any more space in the pouch, so he withheld soap and shampoo. Returning downstairs he placed the pouch in his bag, then zipped it up.

Josia looked at Gold when he flopped on the couch. Gold saw tears well up in her eyes and mentally braced himself. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and looked at him.

“You’re all ready now, all ready to see all of Johto. All ready to make so many memories. Gold I’m so proud of you, you’re doing great things, and at age fifteen no less! Just know that I am so proud of you, and I will always be proud of you,” Josia said with love oozing through her words.

“I love you mama,” Gold said.

“I love you more,” Josia brought back their running joke.

“I love you all the way to the moon and back,” said Gold.

“Yeah? I love you all the way to the sun and back.”

“I love you all the way to Pluto and back,” Gold said, spreading his arms.

“I love you all the way across the universe and back.”

“I love you all the way to the end of time and back.” This usually ended the joke, but Josia persevered.

“Well I love you enough that I carried you around for nine months,” Josia said with a smile. Gold could not will himself to best that, so he hugged his mother. They bid each other goodnight, but Gold knew that he would not be able to sleep.

Gold lay restless upon his sheets. The late June air was stifling, even with the windows open and the fan on. His mind was like a pack of starving coyotes, seizing topics and brutally eviscerating them in a frenzy of overwhelming anxiety. Time seemed to stretch. Gold would look at his clock after what seemed like ten minutes to find that an hour had gone by. Likewise, he thought he lay still with his eyes closed-searching in vain for sleep-for upwards of two hours, but only thirty minutes had passed. Somewhere in his mental meanderings, Gold had the thought that maybe reality was a bit altered. Right there, in his room, nothing seemed to hold any substance. Around 1:30, Gold finally started to catch a bit of sleep, but was woken up soon after. The rest of the night passed like that for Gold, alternating between sleeping and considering the tangibility of his existence.

Gold consumed a large cup of coffee and took a long shower before he tried speaking. When he came downstairs again with wet hair plastered to his head, he found that his mother had already made him scrambled eggs and sliced up a mango. Thanks passed wisplike through the airspace before Gold tucked in. The mix of flavors sat oddly in the back of his mouth, but he did not complain. He walked back upstairs with brittle footsteps, as if one slip would shatter all of his remaining fortitude. Teeth were brushed, a hat was put on backwards, and black bangs spilled over Gold’s forehead.

Josia gave him a hug. “No use worrying about it now,” Gold looked away, “ _look at me_ , you’ll be fine,” Josia said and smiled. The most eloquent writers of history could not begin to describe Gold’s immense gratitude for his mother. Her words lifted him up so much that he smiled back. Gold ran one last check through his bag, then went to the front door. He put on his shoes and looked back at Josia one more time.

“I guess I’m off. I’ll make sure to call you and let you know about what I’m doing and...I love you,” Gold choked out. He resisted sobbing as the words left his mouth.

“I love you too, now go before I start crying then give you another speech. Quickly! I bet Kotone’s waiting for you,” Josia said. Gold opened the door, cast back one last look at Josia’s teary visage, and left.


	2. The City of Fragrant Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silver calls Gold a malfunctioning vending machine

Professor Elm’s lab was one of those places that seemed suspended in time. Nothing there ever changed. The lights never burned out, the assistants never left, it perpetually smelled like coffee and disinfectant, and even Elm himself defied age. To Gold, he looked exactly the same as he did when Gold was six years old.   
Walking into the lab, Gold was instantly grounded. It felt familiar, like it was just another day where he and Kotone would pester Elm to give them a pokémon to play with. Kotone herself greeted him with bright eyes and a smile, showing no signs that she noticed he had a sleepless night. The sight was heartening because Gold had felt like he was starting off on the wrong foot ever since struggling to get out of the house that morning.  
“Gold! Are you ready to choose your starter?” She asked. Gold took a moment to register the questionx, then replied with a sleepy ‘yeah’. Kotone’s face now displayed mild concern, but she refrained from making a comment. In the back of his mind, Gold thought that it was unusual that Kotone did not seize an opportunity to speak, and thought that she must be nervous as well. Professor Elm then guided Gold to a table upon which sat three neatly arrayed pokémon, mirroring the pictures on Elm’s desk.   
“You have three choices. To our left is chikorita, the calm grass type of the bunch. In the middle is totodile, the water type with a huge temper. And last is our ever-determined fire type cyndaquil,” Said Elm in a tone that betrayed that he had rehearsed the monologue. Gold nodded and set about deciding which one to pick. All of them had redeeming qualities, but Gold ruled out chikorita anyway. Its calm attitude and patient style did not hold any appeal for him. Totodile was likable, because it was both fierce looking and smiling at him. Cyndaquil was quiet and motionless, but its eyes burned with a passion that Gold could not manage to tear his gaze from. He considered the pokémon with a growing sense of import, knowing that whoever he chose may very well be with him through countless battles. Seconds ticked by with irritating regularity.  
Eventually Gold chose cyndaquil. It was a narrow decision based solely on instinct, and Gold immediately started fearing that he would regret it for one preposterous reason or another. Elm cleared his throat as Gold lifted cyndaquil off of the table and into his arms. “Do you want to name her?” Elm inquired. Gold thought for a minute.  
“Yeah,” he said, “I think I’ll name her Heart.” Thick silence followed, punctured only by the snicker of an assistant. Gold tried to hold his head high. Yeah, it was a corny name, but cyndaquil - Heart - seemed to like it. Plus, it was Gold’s journey after all, so he could be as corny as he wanted. Given, of course, that his pokémon were okay with it and he could withstand the mockery for it.  
“Erm, right...so, um, before you officially start your journey I have an errand for you. Just to make sure you really want to become a trainer, because not everyone is cut out for it, you know?” Elm said. Gold thought the idea was ridiculous. Of course he could be a trainer, why was Elm doubting him? Nevertheless, Gold nodded and Elm continued. “I want you to drop by Mr. Pokémon’s place on Route 30 and see about a big discovery he’s made.” He said. Gold accepted, and left with further instructions, heading to Route 29. Kotone followed close behind.  
She caught up to Gold with a few bounds. “Hey,” she said, “don’t you want to know how to catch a pokémon?”  
“Oh. Yeah, I guess that would be nice.” Gold said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.  
“Then come on!” Kotone shouted and bounded into the tall grass of Route 29. Gold followed apprehensively through the grass, worried he would not be able to defend himself should a wild pokémon attack. He then heard a squeak and remembered that he was, in fact, holding a pokémon who could battle if need be. Kotone came into view with her marill in front of her, both of them facing a small brown pokémon with a long tail. “This is a sentret, and I’ll show how to catch it if that’s alright,” Kotone said. Gold gave a grunt of consent.  
Kotone then informed Gold how most wild pokémon were not liable to flee once engaged in battle. She told him how just throwing a pokéball at a pokémon was not going to get the job done. It was a three step process, she explained, except for some very rare pokémon and some special pokéballs. Step one was to encounter a pokémon, step two was to weaken the pokémon in battle, and step three was to catch it with a pokéball. She then had marill battle the sentret until she deemed it weak enough to catch. The pokéball sailed through the air and bounced lightly against the sentret’s flank, warping the pokémon into its confines.  
“So that’s it then? Don’t you think it’s a little...I dunno, wrong to beat it up and then trap it?” Gold questioned. Kotone looked at him seriously.  
“Everyone’s in the dark about what goes on inside pokéballs, Gold. All we know is that the experience inside a pokéball is good enough that pokémon continue to love their trainers, even though they spend a lot of time in their pokéballs. Plus, you don’t need to keep your pokémon in their pokéballs if you don’t want to. It’s just more convenient,” Kotone said. Gold looked nonplussed by her answer, but he decided not to pursue the topic. “Here.” Kotone handed him five pokéballs, “Since I’m sure you’re cut out to be a trainer, you should have these to catch more pokémon,” she said. The red orbs disappeared quickly into Gold’s bag.  
“Hey, why don’t you have to go on an errand? You’re as new a trainer as I am,” Gold said, eyes narrowing. A smirk wormed its way onto Kotone’s face.  
“Because I’m just naturally better than you,” Kotone taunted.  
“Yeah, right. We both know I’m way better a battler than you, it’s probably just that the Professor is biased because you’re his kid,” Gold said.  
“Would you like to test that theory of yours in a battle?” Kotone challenged, eyebrows meeting.  
“No.” Kotone looked incredulous, but Gold continued, “Only because you have an unfair advantage. Marill is much more experienced than Heart, and water beats fire. But I’ll battle you once I’m done with this errand, deal?”   
“Oh it’s a deal, and I’ll kick your sorry butt all the way to sinnoh,” Kotone said.  
“Uh-huh,” Gold mocked, “I bet if you keep believing that, it might actually come true. It’s doubtful though.”  
“Go finish this damn errand and then we’ll see,” Kotone dismissed him with a flick of her hand. Gold gave a soft growl, but left peacefully. The morning had not started well, but he felt better now. Everything still felt a bit cloudy, for it had been a rough night after all, but dealing with Kotone had Gold fired up. He set off toward Cherrygrove, vaguely disgusted by the thought of the city, but excited nonetheless.

Hours ended up going by as Gold traveled toward Mr. Pokémon’s house. He battled some wild pokémon, but he did not catch any. The idea did not perturb Gold as much anymore, rather he only had five pokéballs, and he wanted to catch pokémon who would be long time partners. Thus far, no pokémon he had met stuck out to him.  
Gold hurried through Cherrygrove City without so much as a glance in Cherrygrove Academy’s direction. He did pause briefly to find the pokémon center, figure out how the service worked, and heal Heart. On his way out of the city, Gold met an old man kind enough to give him the map card for his pokégear and brand new running shoes. Gold had thanked him profusely, but he seemed to think nothing of it.  
On Route 30, other trainers approached Gold often. Some offered useful information, some just wanted to talk, but most wanted to battle. It inspired Gold that Heart held her own with relative ease during battle. As he neared Mr. Pokémon’s house, Gold became increasingly confident in Heart’s abilities, and was doubly confident that he could best Kotone.   
Three sharp knocks sounded on a dark wooden door. A lively ‘come in!’ came soon after. Gold entered Mr. Pokémon’s house with his mind set on his mission. He was so stubbornly focused that he almost did not register that there were two people in the house. Gold stumbled as he slowly came to recognize the features of the shorter person. “Are you...are you Professor Oak? S-sorry I didn’t mean to be rude, I-sorry for blurting out like that,” Gold sputtered.   
“Yes I am, pleasure to meet you,” the old man said, extending his hand. Gold took it shakily, wonder suffusing his mind. Professor Oak was a legend, a pioneer, and a celebrity. He had been the first pokémon professor to achieve as much as he did. His tale was widely known, using his large inheritance he had self-funded a laboratory in the secluded Pallet Town. There he made groundbreaking discoveries on the topic of the bonds between pokémon and trainers, especially in regard to how pokémon perform in battle and otherwise grow. The pokédex was his greatest achievement, a digital encyclopedia of pokémon that automatically made new entries when new pokémon were found. His work greatly popularized living with and training pokémon, and gave him celebrity status. Thus, Gold’s brain went into overdrive as he tried to make sure he did not screw up in front of the Professor. Or have bad manners. Or do anything relatively out of the ordinary.  
Trying to seem normal, Gold addressed the Professor, “Nice to meet you too, Professor.” Gold’s head hurt so much with scenarios in which things went badly that he had trouble hearing what the other man in the house said.  
“And I am Mr. Pokémon, as you could probably guess. I assume Elm sent you to hear about my discovery, is that true?” Mr. Pokémon said. Gold turned to him, finding the prospect of interacting with Mr. Pokémon much easier than Oak.  
“Yes, he sent me. So what is this discovery anyway?” Asked Gold. Mr. Pokémon walked to a cabinet behind him, and retrieved something from it. That something appeared to be an egg, but Gold could not fathom what would be so important about an egg. Upon closer inspection, Gold noticed that the egg had a plethora of multicolored markings on it.  
“The discovery,” Mr. Pokémon said, “Is this egg, whose markings we have never seen before. No other egg has this amount of color and diversity on its shell, leading us to believe that this egg contains a new pokémon.” Gold stood up straight, and then looked down at Heart who lay by his feet. A new pokémon. The idea was foreign. For as long as Gold remembered, all pokémon had species names, all of them had been identified. Somewhere in his mental brew Gold had the stray thought that maybe it would hatch for him. It was incredibly selfish, to want to have a newly discovered pokémon as his partner, but Gold still wished it was true.  
“Your task from here is to get the egg to Professor Elm, do you think you can handle it?” Mr. Pokémon asked. Gold rushed to give the affirmative, if feeling a bit patronized. Then Professor Oak approached. Gold swallowed.  
“I have something for you as well, Gold. As you may know, the pokédex has already debuted with some trainers in Kanto. I put some thought into it, and decided that it should be completed with all of Johto’s pokémon as well. You show a lot of promise, Gold, so I am giving this task to you. Your friend Kotone will also receive one, so you both can split the task as you see fit,” Oak stated. Disbelief laid itself over everything, like the prickly floor of pine needles that settles every fall in New Bark Town. Gradually, alarm and excitement began to war for control. On one hand, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity given by the one and only Professor Oak.  
On the other hand, it was a daunting task. Johto contained so many pokémon, and to find and categorize every single one...Gold shivered. It seemed impossible. How would he know when he found them all? Maybe there was no end. As he found out today, new pokémon were still being discovered. Of course, Oak would never make him pursue every rumor of a new pokémon until he died from exhaustion, but the idea of filling the pokédex was still unrealistic. Plus, he liked battling more than catching pokémon, and he wanted to challenge the league one day as well. What would happen if he said no? Oak might begrudge him for it. All of his thoughts pointed him towards no, yet Gold said yes.  
He did not remember much else of the conversation besides the word yes and a cue to go and ferry the egg back to Elm, which he took gladly. Once he was out of the house, Gold took a few paces and sat under a tree, idly stroking Heart’s flank. The motion relaxed him somewhat, but when it became apparent that his sanity was as intact as it would ever be, Gold got up and began to walk.  
A short three paces later, the pokégear rang. “Gold! It’s a disaster! Oh, what do I do? Uh, um, G-Gold, get back here as quickly as you can!” Elm’s voice rang. Gold took a glance at Heart, then started running. With an egg in his bag and a pokémon in his arms, Gold feared worse and worse reasons as to why Elm called him with a message like that.

By the time Gold made it to Cherrygrove’s pokémon center, the sun was starting to set. The nurse healed Heart, then Gold and Heart rested on an empty couch. They were both exhausted from the day’s events, but they had to continue soon in order to help Elm.  
The sky was milky white when Gold left, as if wiping itself clean in preparation of the burst of color to come. Too tired to run, he walked through Cherrygrove with Heart padding along at his feet. However, they kept the pace brisk, as Gold did not want to dawdle in the city any longer than he had to. “Just a walk home from school,” he mumbled. The buildings slowly faded away, and soon the streets gave way to the tree lined Route 29. Gold squinted in the waning sunlight. Someone was approaching…  
“Ugh, I see you received a pokémon from the Professor as well,” the newcomer scoffed. Gold’s expression hardened as he recognized the red hair, the sharp nose, and the high stature.  
“You again!” Gold exclaimed. Internally he screamed. As he tried to reign in his fears, Gold’s mouth did what it wanted with his vocabulary. What Gold’s mouth wanted was, unfortunately, to start a fight. “And what’s with the attitude?” He sassed. Oh no. Big mistake. A big mistake Gold was proud of, but a big mistake nonetheless. The redhead scowled.  
“Do you not understand? I meant that you are a waste of a trainer. That cyndaquil deserves better than a wimp like you,” They said, hatred rolling off of their words in waves. Gold’s mouth opened, then closed, then took in a sharp breath, and then closed again. The stranger tapped their foot. “If you insist on standing there like a malfunctioning vending machine, we might as well battle so I can plow through you and continue on my way,” they said. Gold said nothing, rather taking a stance behind Heart.  
A totodile sprang forth from the challenger’s pokéball. Gold shifted, noting that the totodile looked familiar. “Totodile, tackle!” They ordered. Heart dodged the attack narrowly, then launched a tackle of her own. The fact that his opponent elected to not use a water type attack right away confused Gold. Perhaps they were playing with him, maybe they were far stronger than he anticipated and Heart could get badly injured. The redhead commanded another tackle, and this time totodile connected. Gold switched his strategy, playing as much to Heart’s speed as he could. As the battle wore on, Gold belatedly realized that his opponent’s totodile had yet to learn any water type attacks. This gave him renewed vigor, and through him Heart was inspired. The battle ended shortly after, with Heart standing exhausted yet triumphant.  
“Hmph,” the redhead grunted, recalling totodile back into its pokéball and placing the ball on their belt in one smooth motion. “You only won because my pokémon is still weak. I am going to become the greatest trainer in the world, and you would do well to stay out of my way. If we meet again I will have stronger pokémon, and we will destroy you. You are lucky that your pokémon is so talented, otherwise the battle would have been over from the start,” they said, promptly walking away with a brisk stride.  
Gold smiled down at Heart, picking her up. As he did, he noticed a small object on the ground. He picked it up, and scrutinized it for a few seconds. It was a trainer card, belonging to Silver Alexander. Gold turned toward the redhead, “Yo-”  
“Shit!” Silver was upon Gold before he could say a second word. “Give that back right now,” They accosted him. Gold handed over the card without hesitation. Silver stormed away, muttering, “Now he knows my name…” Gold stood still for a whole minute, processing what just occurred. The person he had just battled was Silver Alexander. Silver had just declared an unofficial rivalry with him. And the more Gold thought about it, it made sense that they had caused the disaster at Elm’s lab.  
Remembering that he still had to see about that disaster, Gold picked up Heart and ran. Silver would not just get away with stealing a pokémon and causing a panic in the process. Shadows lengthened and shifted as he raced against the sun. The experience of running away from the lengthening shadows created a familiar tingle in Gold’s muscles, making him run faster. Soon enough, he was barging through the door to Elm’s Lab. Kotone was present, along with a very frazzled Elm and the New Bark sheriff.  
“Is this the kid who did it?” Asked the sheriff, wearily pointing at Gold. Gold stopped in his tracks, stunned at the accusation. Kotone rushed to his defense.  
“Of course not!” She exclaimed, “Gold would never do that, and he already got a pokémon from the Professor.” The sheriff looked impassive, as if she had run out of ideas long ago.  
“Well then kid,” she said, “would you happen to know who the suspect might be?” Gold nodded.  
“Kotone, remember the redhead who was loitering around the lab? Well I just battled them near Cherrygrove, and they had a totodile,” Gold said, ignoring the imposing sheriff.  
“Our totodile is the one who went missing!” Kotone exclaimed.  
“Did you happen to catch this kid’s name?” The sheriff asked Gold. Gold took a breath.  
“Yeah...their name is Silver Alexander.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HolY fuck im sorry its late. My B,,
> 
> This all literally happens in the span of one day. Hang in there Gold it gets easier. Also u may want to rethink ur life after that career ending roast Silver had on you. Malfunctioning vending machine. Holy shit. 
> 
> Anyway, Gold will actually start going places in the next chapter, and now i can finALLY STOP USING ANNOYING ALIASES FOR SILVER LIKE 'the redhead' GODDAMN.
> 
> stay tuned ;


	3. Madatsubomi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silver ends Gold's whole career again. 'Weakling'. Damn, calm down Silver.

Silver recited a lengthy string of oaths under their breath. They were staring angrily at a Violet City Police ‘wanted’ notice that was posted outside the Violet City pokémon center. It gave a brief summary of what had happened at Elm’s lab in New Bark Town, and below that a description of Silver. These two things certainly enraged Silver, but the worst part was in tiny print, at the bottom of the notice. It was the sheriff’s personal thanks for Gold Vasquez.

It made Silver’s blood boil. Not only had Gold managed to beat them out of pure luck, snatch their trainer card, and run back to Elm, he had also gone out of his way to give the New Bark sheriff Silver’s name and a full description of them. It was despicable. Spineless. Exactly the kind of thing that the runt would do.

In hindsight, Silver knew they should have been more aggressive after Gold got a hold of their trainer card. Having their identity found out immediately after they burgled Elm was a worst case scenario, something they should have avoided at all costs. Justifications for their passiveness popped up in Silver’s mind. They were overwhelmed from the events that day. Their only pokémon was too tired to battle at that point. Gold could still run to the police with complaints of the threats Silver would have surely made.

In the end, they were all excuses, and just as weak as Gold at that. They had made their decision to let Gold go. Whether or not it was the best decision was out of question now, Silver had to focus on their next move. They unfolded the map in their hands, and surveyed the Johto region. It seemed that they would have to pass through Union Cave in their near future, so Silver figured that they needed flash. Unfortunately, there was only one place Silver knew that had that TM.

* * *

  
Silver’s confidence grew as they scaled Sprout Tower. Of course, they had no reason to worry in the first place. They had trained relentlessly with totodile after the encounter with Gold. In Dark Cave, they had caught the strongest zubat they could find, then they trained with their two partners even more. The monks in Sprout Tower stood no chance against their team. 

In an odd way, Silver found stomping on the monks’ teams very relaxing. The atmosphere was very calm, and it smelled good, like fresh pine. It was a perfect place to orchestrate the chaos of battle. Thankfully, the monks invited it upon themselves when they told visitors that they would battle anyone who wished to test themselves, so Silver was technically not committing any crimes.

As Silver climbed the levels of the tower, they found themselves calming down. Small details stood out to them. A ratatta nibbling on something in a corner. Small illegible inscriptions on the wood surrounding them. They decided that they well and truly liked Sprout Tower, and made a mental note to revisit in the future. Then, a group of youngsters passed by. Something about them seemed familiar...

Somehow, Gold made his way into Silver’s mind. They recoiled at the thought of him, but they knew that they had to think through their situation. Gold was given a pokémon from the professor. As of late, those given a pokémon from a professor have also been given a pokédex and tasked with documenting all the pokémon in their region. And in order to accomplish that...Gold would have to travel the Johto region, just like Silver. Silver sighed, that meant that they and Gold would meet again.

The question then concerned what Silver would do when they inevitably saw Gold again. They drew up three options. The first was to ignore Gold, to just keep walking past him as if he did not exist. This would revert them back to strangers, and they would likely forget about each other. However, ignoring Gold would do nothing for Silver’s need for revenge. There was, of course, the option of releasing their crystallized rage on Gold and seeing what happened afterward. Pleasing, but would probably end up a felony, which Silver was trying to avoid in the first place. The last option was to simply defeat Gold in a battle, to display their dominance over him and make sure that he would never mess with them again. They decided to go with this option.

It was perfect. Silver could get their revenge on Gold and stay out of trouble with the authorities at the same time. Plus, it fit into their original plan. All they had to do was keep their team trained and travel through Johto. Satisfied with themselves, Silver continued through the tower with the comfort of a plan.

 

Eventually, Silver reached the top of Sprout Tower. It was smaller than the other floors, and twice as crowded. Silver stepped off the ladder and onto the very southern side of the room. In order to get to the other side, where they assumed the Elder was, they had to battle at least four monks. They checked their healing supplies and cursed at the lack of potions. They would have be smart in order to get through all of the battles and still take on the Elder. 

By the time Silver reached the Elder, they had a headache. They had spent too much energy weighing risks and damage outputs in the past four battles. In all honesty, they just wanted to leave. The tranquil atmosphere of Sprout Tower had fallen away, replaced with the shuffling of robes and being just hot enough to sweat. The Elder stirred in front of Silver. Rising, he began a long winded spiel about the sanctity of Sprout Tower and his importance as Elder. Silver caught snippets, but otherwise took the break to lean against a pole and rest. Through a window, they saw the sun make its descent into the trees, and noted that they ought to make the battle quick. When the Elder finally stopped talking, Silver spoke up.

“Right, right. Can we begin the battle now?” They said, reaching for a pokéball.

“You have some respect issues, boy, if you think you can walk in here demanding a battle like that,” the Elder retorted. Silver allowed a small smirk to cross their face. They said nothing, instead sending out totodile. The Elder would battle.

Totodile did a surprising amount of damage to the Elder’s team, considering that it was mostly bellsprout. After receiving a hefty blow from a vine whip, Silver retrieved totodile and sent out zubat. Zubat was an excellent tool for eliminating the Elder’s pokémon. Wing attack devastated bellsprout, while bellsprout could barely damage zubat because of its extreme type advantage. The battle went smoothly until the Elder sent out a hoothoot. This pokémon was especially dangerous because of hypnosis, which was used to put zubat to sleep right away.

Silver cursed. They had run out of awakening on the fourth floor. It was most likely best to just heal zubat and wait for it to wake up, but Silver took the risk of sending out totodile. If they were lucky, it would end the battle much more quickly than simply waiting out zubat’s sleep, and save them a lot of money. Totodile was low on health, and a critical hit from hoothoot would put Silver in a dire situation. They commanded totodile to use bite. Totodile lunged forward and landed the attack on hoothoot’s legs, making it flinch and unable to launch a successful counterattack. Silver inwardly rejoiced. With another bite, the battle was over. 

“You should show your pokémon some respect and love, boy. It will get you farther than your use of them as tools. Yours is no way to treat pokémon,” The Elder lectured.

“I would rather you show me some respect after I bested you in battle. And stop lecturing me on the optimal treatment of pokémon when my methods granted me victory,” Silver argued. The Elder fumed. It was bad practice to engage in argument for Silver and the Elder, but moral high ground or not, the Elder had no comebacks. Instead, he took the high road in ending the bickering and handing over flash.

Silver smugly shoved the TM in their bag, then grabbed an escape rope and started fastening it to a railing, peering down six stories to the bottom floor. As they prepared to slide down to the bottom, they heard footsteps approaching. They glanced up. The word ‘mistake’ flared bright red in Silver’s mind, because the footsteps belonged to the one person they did not want to meet. 

 

Shit. Silver’s team was in no state to battle Gold’s. Even if they tried to heal their team up fully, zubat was still asleep, and they would not have enough potions to withstand the battle. After all, Gold had made it up here, so his pokémon had to have some strength to them. How bad could Silver’s luck be that Gold managed to catch them at the one moment they could not battle him.

While their mind raced to figure out an escape plan, Silver absently observed their enemy. Gold was about two inches shorter than Silver, something that pleased them to no end, and of a stocky build. He had feathery black hair that spilled out of the hole in his backwards cap. His eyes were a dark amber, and Silver noticed that when they reflected sunlight they turned pure gold. They noted that it was most likely where his name came from. His lips were fuller than average, and his cheeks were a bit pudgy. He wore a loose red T-shirt and odd black sweatpants that stopped at his upper calf. When he walked and his T-shirt billowed, Silver could make out some belly fat standing out against the fabric. 

Silver was about to chastise themselves for staring when a thought popped into their head. Mentally, they mounted the most beautiful high horse they had ever seen. Letting their anger and indignance flow freely, Silver wet their throat. Staring required no chastising because it makes people uneasy, something Silver needed at the moment. As Gold turned and saw Silver, they inhaled. Showtime.

“Hmph! He calls himself the Elder. What a preposterous title. My team was simply too strong for him, and now I have flash,” Silver said, choosing their words carefully. They made sure to only tell the truth, so they could focus on putting emotion into their words rather than lying. Gold’s eyes went comically wide. He regained his senses in a few seconds, then took his sweet time forming a response to Silver.

“Your team isn’t strong! You stole those pokémon, which is just about the weakest thing a person can do. If you’re really that strong, then let’s battle,” Gold yelled. Silver smirked in his direction. Here was where it got tricky.

“Sorry, I am afraid I have places to be, and cannot be bothered with weaklings like you,” Silver said. They stayed just long enough to see Gold show his anger, then slid down their escape rope. They exited Sprout Tower quickly, knowing that they had to move quickly to get an ample head start on Gold while he was battling the Elder. The only stops they made were at the pokémon center and pokémart to heal their pokémon and stock up on healing items.

Battling exhaustion with every step, Silver made their way out of Violet City. Entering the forest, they prepared themselves for a long walk in the dark. Better get accustomed to it now, it was the only way to be safe. Well, safe in essence. Silver chuckled, safety was relative.

* * *

 

Gold wanted to punch a wall, and then cry. And watch the stars. He also wanted to pet his pokémon and apologize to them. He resolved to call his mother.

The previous day had been overwhelming. He had started his journey, met Professor Oak, started a rivalry with Silver Alexander after a heated battle, and dealt with the police about a disaster that Silver caused. He had crashed at home after all of that.

Today, his mother had second guessed everything she said before he started his journey. She wanted him to stay home for so many reasons that Gold almost said yes to get her to stop worrying. But he had held firm, saying that it was just like the first day of school. The first day of school was always hard, but people settle in as the year wears on. He managed to leave by mid morning, promising to be safe. He made it to Violet city by early afternoon, and received the mystery egg at the pokémart from one of Elm’s assistants, along with instructions to keep it until it hatched. The Violet City gym was so anxiety inducing that Gold almost walked out halfway through. He only won because of the constant encouragement of a man named Clyde. To top it all off, he had scaled Sprout Tower and had a run in with Silver.

So Gold called his mother. It was late, so he was unsure if she would pick up, but after three rings, she did.

“Gold? Honey how was your day?” She said immediately.

“I-er I dunno mama. It was hard. The gym was really overwhelming, and then I climbed Sprout Tower, which was also hard. I saw Silver again, too,” Gold said.

“What!? You saw that boy again? Are you okay? What did you do?” Josia squawked. Gold flinched.

“I’m fine mama. We didn’t even battle, they just said some things about the Elder and left. I was so pissed off, I wanted to battle so badly,” Gold said.

“I think you should stay away from that boy-” Gold made a mental note to teach her about neutral pronouns “-he’s bad news. I mean he’s a thief! A criminal, Gold, the kind of person you stay away from. They could have stolen more powerful pokemon. I don’t like it, not one bit,” Josia said. 

“I know, I know. But they said that they’re also going to travel Johto, and they also sort of made me their rival. I can’t seem to shake this kid, mama… Maybe I should just come home,” Gold admitted. He could hear her shift position through the speaker. Oh boy, time for a tirade of the ages.

“You can’t just come home now. After all you’ve been through in these first two days, I’m sure you can handle anything on the road ahead of you. The only thing keeping you from your dream is you. You have to believe in yourself, Gold, I know you’re capable of great things. Don’t worry about Silver, or Oak, or anybody, just get out there and do it,” Josia ranted. Gold almost laughed sarcastically.

“Mama, just this morning you were telling me to stay at home and that it was too dangerous,” He said, even though he knew and accepted the coming answer.

“That was different, imagine seeing your only child coming home exhausted after doing arceus knows what. I had to be protective, it’s my nature as your mother,” Josia argued. Gold laid down on the pokémon center bed, bone tired. He knew that she was right, so he changed the direction of the conversation.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. By the way, um, the thing about Silver is that they’re really androgynous. Like, they don’t exactly look like a boy or a girl. And the polite thing to do with androgynous people who haven’t told you their gender is to use neutral pronouns. So, instead of ‘him’, you’d say ‘them’, and instead of ‘his’, ‘their’ and so on,” Gold instructed.

“Oh, I never saw Silver so I assumed he-wait, sorry,  _ they _ were a boy from the police reports,” Josia said.

“It’s really okay, there was no way you could have known with everyone assuming that they’re a boy. It’s just something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about for a while, and this seemed like a good time,” Gold responded.

“I’ll keep that in mind, sweetheart,” Josia said. Shortly after, they bid each other goodnight. Gold stared at his pokégear for a few seconds before placing it in his bag. Soft shuffling noises filled the room as Gold took the mystery egg out of his bag and placed it on the bed, next to Heart. She was dozing quietly, tired from the long day.

Gold let out a breath that he had been holding. It felt good, like all of his troubles left with the carbon dioxide. He rolled onto his side, making a comfortable spot near his belly for Heart and the egg. He watched his pokémon, pride welling up in his chest. How could he just stop now? What a ludicrous idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ch3, dang,, Silver stuff. Speaking of, we got a little bit of insight to Silver's thoughts and their situation,, and some...ulterior motives??,, woah, deep. Also Gold is cute  
> Oh! and I know that Sprout Tower is only three levels, it was just important for the chapter for it to be more so,,whoops i doubled it.


	4. Rainmaker

Shouting reached Gold’s ears, making him slow his pace. He knew he was near Slowpoke Well, which meant he was that much closer to a pokémon center. Rounding a bend in the path, Gold saw a man in a black uniform facing an ordinary looking woman in the clearing ahead. As quietly as possible, Gold stepped behind a tree, praying that neither person noticed him.

“Sorry sir, I just came to check the water levels down there. Could you please let me by?” The woman asked, pointing at the well. The thug scoffed.

“No, this place is ours now. Now if you don’t leave, you’ll have to answer to my ekans.” The lady, who Gold assumed was from the nearby Azalea Town, looked like she wanted to retaliate. She stormed away instead, looking more annoyed than afraid. Gold stayed behind the tree, waiting until it would seem like he hadn’t seen the confrontation. It was odd that Slowpoke Well had been taken over. The well was a sacred place to the people of Azalea, so Gold imagined that they wouldn’t give it up without a fight. It was probably just a few thugs who came in the previous night, trying to steal a few pokémon. The townspeople would probably arrest them, but Gold only hoped that they wouldn’t shut down the pokémon center. He needed to heal his pokémon. 

Glancing at the man’s uniform again, Gold thought that something about it was familiar. It taunted him from the corners of his conscience, eluding him like a minnow. It made him uncomfortable, so he got up and started walking, figuring that enough time had passed. As he walked by, the thug gave Gold a hard stare, much too bold and authoritative for a simple pokémon poacher. The whole situation seemed off. If it were just a few guys looking to make some money on the black market, they wouldn’t have stayed through the morning, and they wouldn’t have the audacity to block off the well from the people of Azalea. Gold shivered and thought about the townspeople. They could be running into something they weren’t prepared for.

When he was well away from the clearing, Gold looked down at Sabo, his sandshrew, and confirmed that he was doing fine. Gold had chanced upon Sabo in Union Cave, or rather encroached upon his meal. Gold had been exploring a small nook when Sabo had attacked him, remnants of a pecha berry plastered around his mouth. Originally, Gold just wanted to scare him away, but Sabo put up a convincing fight, convincing enough for Gold to catch him. It wasn’t like catching him was easy either, but Sabo proved to be a great team member after some nutritious compensation. 

Before that, Gold had found Marcie, his mareep, while walking along Route 32. She had been running away from an enraged nidorino, and was cornered by a ledge. In no time, Heart was out and giving the angry pokémon punishment by fire. In her gratitude, Marcie started following Gold around, and had hopped right into the pokéball he offered to her. She got along well with Heart and Sabo, but she was too mature to participate in their antics.

When Gold entered Azalea Town, he immediately searched out the pokémon center, finding it open, much to his relief. He gave his team to the nurse, who carried them away to be healed. Turning around, Gold spied the couches in the front of the room and sat down heavily. He had expected to make it to Azalea in one day, but ended up spending the previous night at the Route 32 pokémon center instead. The two days of travel had been trying, and Gold longed for sleep above all else. A few other trainers were sitting on the couches as well. They were saying something about the well, that Kurt would deal with it. A stroke of luck, Gold was worried that he would have to help with that. Sleep pulled at his eyelids, making him blink to keep himself awake.

After thirty minutes of blinking, Gold was called up to the desk and given his team back. He checked each of his pokémon to make sure they were fully healthy, then walked with them to the pokémart. He entered the shop with a vague list of healing items in mind, and walked out with a full bag and a thin wallet. He told himself it was ok because he would be battling a gym soon. If he won, it would be a huge bolster to his funds. If he lost, well, he preferred not to think of the kind of trouble he would be in. Gold tried to take it in stride, telling himself that it was just part of being a trainer, and that there was nothing to worry about. Fighting off anxiety, Gold checked back into the pokémon center and entered his room. 

He showered, savoring the drops of water as if they were words of sincere faith. As he stepped out onto the smooth tile floor, the mirror beckoned him. Eyes focused on the consistency of jawline hairs. He didn’t need to shave today, but he would probably have to tomorrow. The towel was warm when Gold picked it up. The luxury that the pokémon centers provided was something he knew he would never get over. Heated towels, for Arceus’ sake. It was no wonder that so many trainers never settled down. Maybe that was why Gold’s dad left, he just couldn’t stand room temperature towels.

Gold laughed at himself for that, silently of course, but it did make him consider calling his mother. Taking a deep breath, he decided against it. At some point, he would need to learn how to comfort himself, and he really needed to stop making her worry about him. The whole point of calling her was usually to reassure her that he was fine, and eating, and sleeping enough, and all that jazz, but she had a way of getting him to talk about his problems, and then she would get really worried. He would call her when he was less tired, after a good day. 

When Gold returned to his room, he found all three pokémon staring at him beseechingly. He cocked an eyebrow at them, confused. “What do you guys want? Do you need me to play with you?” Silence. And then Gold’s stomach grumbled. “We haven’t eaten since morning, have we?” Solemn nods. “Well then, time to get some food.”

Azalea town had some of the best restaurants in Johto, or so Gold was told by a local trainer. It only took five minutes of walking to find one, a place called Granby’s Diner, but those five minutes felt more like an hour. Heart had decided to play a game of who-can-trip-Gold-first, and Sabo joined in. Gold almost hit the pavement twice, which wasn’t amusing for him, but he heard Heart and Sabo snickering afterwards. He’d let them have their fun, they deserved it after two days of hard training and traveling, but they wouldn’t get to sleep on the bed tonight. Marcie, the angel, just plodded along quietly, occasionally throwing concerned looks in Gold’s direction. 

So, when they finally settled down to eat, Gold made sure to scold the rambunctious duo. He could tell they didn’t regret anything, but it made him feel like a responsible trainer. After that, everyone set about inhaling and destroying the food in front of them. Gold was fairly sure it was a bad display of manners, and bad role modeling on his part, but they were starving. When the check came, Gold couldn’t believe his eyes. He had been afraid that he would end up broke, but he still had enough money to get breakfast in the morning after paying. With full stomachs, and no attempts to unite Gold with the ground, the party walked back to the pokémon center.

It took longer than usual for Gold to perform his nighttime rituals. Exhaustion and fullness took the roles of Sabo and Heart, begging him to go horizontal. In terms of the two pokémon, Gold broke the news with a nonchalant flick of his bangs. The look on their faces was surely enough to make even the most hardened soldier give in, but Gold turned away and plopped down on the mattress before he could see it. Holding the egg close, he hoped to fall asleep immediately, but he didn’t. Instead, he wondered if making his pokémon sleep on the floor made him a bad trainer. Maybe it would make them resent him or even abandon him. Second guessing himself, Gold turned around.

What he saw almost drove him to tears. Heart and Sabo were huddling on the floor like they were being assailed by forces of cold and dark. Marcie dozed to the side, ignoring them. In his sleepiness, Gold bought their act, and told them to get up on the bed. All three hurried to oblige. As Heart nestled herself near Gold’s head, he noticed the smug look on her face. “You just wanted to sleep on the bed, didn’t you?” He gasped. Heart nodded, so proud of herself that she had fooled him. Gold wanted to scold them, but he was so comfortable…

Everyone woke up tired. Gold swung his feet off the mattress, scooping the egg into his bag as he did. Getting up made him feel like he got hit by a train. He took a deep breath. Off to a great start. Stretching, he grabbed his toiletries and headed down the hall to the bathroom. Once he had brushed and dressed, he roused his team. “Wake up kids, we got a full day ahead of us.” They responded with sleepy groans. Gold held firm, determined not to give in again.

At the moment, Gold barely felt like he could throw a pokéball, much less challenge a gym. Deciding to start the day slow, he picked up breakfast for his pokémon and coffee at a local café, deliberately not looking at his remaining money, if there was any. All three pokémon went in their pokéballs after eating, preferring to stay inside and catch some extra rest. Gold basked in the peace and quiet left by their absence. As he walked, he wondered if there was anything to do that didn’t require physical activity. He noticed a hand painted sign to his right. It advertized Kurt’s custom pokéball making service. Gold shrugged, taking a sip of coffee. A custom pokéball or two would probably be helpful. And besides, the sign didn’t list a price.

Gold was expecting a small shop, but it was a house. He wrung his hands, wondering if he could just walk in. The sign had given no indication as to the hours that Kurt was operating. Gold checked his pokégear. Would they be open by midmorning? He decided to wait, and sat back on his heels, eating the last of his breakfast. As he ate, he got more and more frustrated, knowing he was delaying. He really had to get moving, but the thought of challenging the gym was daunting. When an empty coffee cup left him with nothing else to do, Gold convinced himself to at least see if they were home.

He walked up to the door and knocked three times, giving himself no time to turn back. To his surprise, the door was opened by a girl who looked about nine years old.

“Hello,” She said, trying to look official. Concerned that he was overstepping some boundaries, and also trying not to laugh, Gold put on a very serious expression.

“Hello, I would like to speak to Kurt. We have some important custom pokéball business to take care of.” The girl giggled, then remembered her persona.

“Grandpa has something to do at the well so I’m in charge of the house.” She inflated as she spoke, puffing out her chest. Gold gave her a smile.

“Okay,” He said, “I’ll come back later. Thank you very much ma’am.” She gave him a very professional ‘sir’, and then closed the door. Gold turned away from the house perplexed. Now that he thought about it, he had heard the name Kurt before. Shit. The woman walking away from the uniformed man without a scuffle. Talk in the pokémon center about how Kurt would deal with the thugs at the well. This girl’s grandfather named Kurt going to the well. The symbol on that uniform…

Gold started running.

The man who had been guarding the well was gone. Hope flared in Gold’s chest. Maybe Kurt had dealt with the thugs already. Maybe he could just focus on the gym battle ahead of him. However, he had to check to see if everything was okay. The murky depths of the well yawned at him, threatening to swallow him whole. Gold stepped onto the ladder, holding the sides tightly as he made the first step.

For a while, he descended the ladder in total darkness, regretting not having Heart out of her pokéball. Eventually, he was able to make out the vague patterns of the stone around him. He fought the temptation to look down, knowing that he would only see the ladder stretching down into oblivion. After about another minute of climbing, his feet touched the ground. He stood for a nervous moment, fearing an ambush while his eyes adjusted to the dark. 

Off to his right, Gold made out a misshapen lump on the ground, and in front of him faint light came through a rough doorway hewn out of stone. He let out Marcie, who used flash to light up the cavern. Gold took another look at the lump, freezing up. No…

“Ugh, who’s there?” The lump coughed. Gold jumped, eyes wide. Thank Arceus.

“I-I’m Gold. A uh, a pokémon trainer. Are you okay?” Gold moved closer to get a better view of the man on the ground. He looked to be in his mid-fifties, and wore no uniform. Definitely Kurt.

“I sent the guard running for the hills, but I took a tumble on the last part of the ladde-” Kurt broke off into a coughing fit. Gold cursed under his breath. How was he supposed to get Kurt out of here? He doubted that he and his pokémon were strong enough to get Kurt all the way up that ladder. And what about the rest of the crooks who took the well? There was no way they all left, so they could come in at any time and capture Gold, or worse. Kurt interrupted his mental train.

“I’ll be alright, but please, you have to-” He drew in a breath “-Have to stop them. They’re cutting off slowpoke tails…” He said, feebly pointing toward the doorway. Gold stiffened. He was unsure if there was anything he could do about it. It was doubtless that they had pokémon with them, and they were probably stronger than his team. There had to be another solution.

First, Gold took out his pokégear to call the police, wondering why he hadn’t thought of that first, but it was dead. Of course it was, he had forgotten to charge it last night with all of the mischief his pokémon were causing. He knew he could climb back out of the well to alert the townspeople, and that seemed like the best way to deal with the situation. Unfortunately, it meant that he would have to leave Kurt alone and defenseless. The poachers could find him at any point, and Gold had no idea what they would do with him. Naturally, he feared the worst.

It was hopeless. He had to do something, but every option involved risking a life. Panic reared her ugly head, forcing Gold to sit down on the cold stone floor. He stared off into the darkness, measuring his breaths to stay calm. Even so, thick regret seeped through his bones, making him wish that he had not gotten up this morning. Or maybe that he had not gotten up at all. 

“Kid, you gotta find a way to cope.” Gold almost laughed. No shit, sherlock. “You said you’re a trainer? Then give these clowns a whooping. They’re not that strong, and they sure as hell deserve it.” There was that word again. 

. Silver used that word a lot. Why was he thinking about Silver? Whatever, Gold knew he wasn’t 

enough to deal with the threat. He couldn’t even tell his pokémon to sleep on the floor. He was just going to get himself killed, or his pokémon captured, or both. No, no, no.

“I can’t.” 

“Lissen, lissen,” said Kurt, “I believe you can. Now, can you hear the water dropping?” It was background noise to the throes of dread, but Gold could hear the droplets hitting the ground. “Just listen to that for a while.” 

So he did. And, bit by fragile bit, Gold calmed down. Not enough to get up and fight, but enough to cease the pounding in his ears. “Are you feeling better?” Kurt asked, and Gold was thankful for the simplicity.

“Yes.”

“Good. Now try to find a rhythm. It doesn’t have to be constant, just let it come to you.” Ignoring his doubts, Gold listened. And listened. And soon he found it easy to imagine the disparate drops were all part of an eerie song. But the drops were inconsistent, so it became a game of trying to find a beat among the sounds. Time passed unchecked as Gold recovered.

A strange noise filled the cavern. Gold looked around, confused. With a start, he realized that Kurt was snoring. Shit. He had taken longer than he should have to recuperate. He and Kurt both could have died while he was being selfish and spacing out like that. 

One leg was asleep, making Gold limp as he got up. He took a look at the doorway. He suddenly felt vastly unprepared to try and take down any criminals. No, not criminals, Team Rocket. The name flashed into his mind of its own accord, and he knew that it was true. The man guarding the well had worn a black uniform with a red ‘R’ across the chest. Gold knew he had recognized it somewhere. The same uniform was worn by the people who had wanted to develop New Bark Town into an industrial city when Gold was seven years old. He didn’t remember much of what happened, but he remembered there being a big struggle and the champion showing up in town. Eventually they had left, and Gold hadn’t thought much of the situation at the time. Now he understood.

These people weren’t poachers. They were part of an organized mafia that had the capability and money to turn New Bark Town into a city. This was a situation that should be handled by the police, or maybe even the league. Gold was lucky to have lived so far, and he needed to get out.

Gold made his way over to Kurt, each echoing footstep making him wince. He told himself that it would be alright. All he had to do was get up the ladder. Gold prodded Kurt to wakefulness and explained as briefly as he could why they had to leave. He clearly didn’t understand, but he was too weak to do anything but follow along. Getting him to the ladder was easy. Gold had to bear some weight, but otherwise he walked fine. Getting him up the ladder was the real challenge.

Gold sent out Sabo to help him with the process. Kurt couldn’t bend his right knee, so he had to go one rung at a time. They made good progress up the ladder for a few minutes, but Gold could tell that Kurt was flagging. He eventually stopped to take a breather, but Gold wouldn’t stand for it. Rocket grunts could be coming for them any moment. 

By that point Kurt couldn’t lift himself up. In order to keep a steady pace, Gold and Sabo had to start pushing him up the ladder. They fell into a rhythm. Step, push, step, push. Sweat poured from Gold’s skin.

Even though he tried to absorb himself in the labor, Gold was subconsciously listening for any sign of Rocket from below. He tried not to let his worries get to him. When he looked up to push Kurt again, he could see faint light above. They had to be close. He picked up the pace, filling the air with hurried breaths. The light above kept getting closer. 

As Gold stepped up another rung, he felt something hit his arm. It felt like a pebble, but it splashed a little bit. Then he noticed the walls of the well had trails of water running down into the darkness below. It was raining outside. He whipped his limbs into cooperation and clung on to the ladder as hard as he could. If he slipped and fell now, it was a long way down. As he took another step up, he bumped his head into Kurt’s behind. 

“Watch out there, kid. This is the end of the ladder,” Said Kurt from above.

“Do you think you can pull yourself up?” Gold asked, tongue feeling like lead.

“I think so, if I just…” Kurt grunted as he hoisted himself upwards. At the very top of the ladder, Kurt got stuck, but Gold was ready. He reached up on his tiptoes, one hand holding the ladder, and heaved, sending Kurt up and onto solid ground. He lowered himself back down onto the balls of his feet slowly, making sure to keep his hold on the ladder. It would really ruin his day if he fell now. He looked down, confirming that Sabo was still right below him. The two of them climbed up and out of the well. 

Gold tried to stand on the grass, but he ended up falling on his back immediately. It was a nice spot. The rain felt good on his face, and the freshness of the air took his breath away. He almost wanted to sleep, but took a few deep breaths and convinced himself that sleep really wasn’t the way to go. With effort, he got up. Kurt was sitting up about five feet away, with Sabo already next to him. Together, Gold and Sabo helped Kurt onto his feet, and then they each took a shoulder to support. 

Kurt’s limp made the whole trio move at an awkward gait. He directed them towards Azalea town, but Gold had to wonder how much further they could get. He didn’t really remember, but he thought the town was pretty far away from the well. All around, the landscape was blurry with dark greens and greys. Only squelching footsteps stood out against the constant pattering of the rain. 

Kurt was barely lifting his legs anymore, and Gold’s muscles burned from the exertion of supporting him. A dark tree loomed to the right, offering shelter and a place to rest. Gold took the chance, telling the others that he needed a break, to which they just grunted. They all sat down against the trunk, Kurt with extra difficulty. Gold found it hard to catch his breath. He thought he was seeing things in the shadows of the trees, which was definitely not a good sign. 

“Hey,” The shadows kept calling. Gold tried to figure out which ones were talking, finding no success. 

“Hey...hello?” A hand waved in front of Gold’s face, “Are you guys ok?”

“Huh? We need to get back to town,” Gold responded. He looked up at his rescuer, but couldn’t make out much because of the rain in his eyes.

“Are any of you hurt?”

“Uh, he’s hurt. Can’t lift his right knee. That’s Kurt, by the way. I don’t know If you’ve heard of him.”

“Yes,” Kurt interjected, “And my back is in bad shape. The slowpoke well has been taken over by Team Rocket.”

“Holy mother of - we need to get you guys out of here. Can either of you get up?”

“I think I can, but I can barely walk,” Gold said. He braced himself against the tree and pushed himself up. His muscles protested heavily, but they held. “I’m going to recall Sabo. He’s already done enough for us.”

“That’s ok. I have some help with me,” The rescuer said. They sent out a nidoqueen and a clefable. Gold stared at the powerful pokémon.

“Who are you?” He said.

“I’m Leaf. More of a traveler than a trainer really. What’s your name?”

“I’m Gold. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. Now, Nido, carry Kurt over here. Clefy, you and I will help Gold. Could you guys tell me which way we’re going? It’s been awhile since I’ve been down here,” Leaf said.

“Straight this way,” Kurt directed, pointing in the general direction of Azalea. Leaf nodded and took up a position on Gold’s left shoulder. Together, the party trudged through the rain.

The pokémon center was way too bright. Gold closed his eyes and sat down on a couch. Drowned-out sounds of Kurt being wheeled off to the back pushed at his eardrums. Breathing became his primary focus.

A thump sounded near him, so he opened his eyes. Across from him was Leaf putting their feet up on the table. They looked at him like they knew what he was thinking.

“So, do you mind telling me why you and Kurt were half-dead sitting against a tree in the middle of a downpour?”

“It was Team Rocket.”

“Where? Did you come into contact with them?”

“They’re in the slowpoke well. I don’t know what they’re doing or how long they’ve been at it. Kurt fell down the ladder after taking out the guard. I just got him out without running into anybody,” Gold said.

“So they’re still in there. Bastards…” Leaf started getting up and checking their bag. “I’m going back out there.”

“Hold on, wait, you’re going back alone?” 

“No, of course not,” Leaf said, incredulous, “I’ll call the cops on the way there. You should sleep. You look exhausted.”

Gold gave them a concerned look, but conceded to stay in the pokémon center. Leaf just waved a hand, already on their way out. Too tired to consider everything that could go wrong, Gold laid down. Before he knew it, the room was swimming before him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 month hiatuses are cool. Also panic attacks are a thing.   
> I really do have to apologize though, writer's block and a packed schedule did me in. It feels really good to finally get this chapter out, which hopefully means more regular updates in the future.

**Author's Note:**

> Boyo I tried. It took a while. Too long,,,but it is so hecking anxiety inducing posting a fic my dudes.
> 
> Anyway, mostly Gold being a wreck. Pull it together dude. More Gold and Silver interaction to come, and more action. Slow start. Oh well.


End file.
